Struggling to afford that expensive gym membership? Gardening could help you burn off the calories for free. Researchers asked amateur gardeners to keep a record of gardening activities over a week, to examine the benefits.
Over seven days the group burned, on average, 1,437 calories. Over a gardening season, that amounts to 43,110 calories: enough to run more than 17 marathons. Some of the most beneficial activities were found to be heavy pruning and lawn mowing (see panel). Watering the garden used the lowest number of calories, at just 102 over an hour.
Heavy pruning – 408 calories
Lawn mowing, edging and raking – 374 calories
Digging – 340 calories
Hedge cutting and clearing – 315 calories
Planting – 306 calories
Painting the fence/shed – 306 calories
Watering – 102 calories